


Between the Lightning and the Peace

by 91daesmods, tixing



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Multi, Polyamory, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-02-08
Packaged: 2018-05-19 05:27:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5955379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/91daesmods/pseuds/91daesmods, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tixing/pseuds/tixing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>when yixing suggested they should do running training on top of their frequent visits to the gym, jongdae was less than enthusiastic, especially when he saw the hill his boyfriend wanted them to sprint up. then he met junmyeon, the man who lived in the blue house on the side of the hill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between the Lightning and the Peace

**Author's Note:**

> apologies if this makes no sense, the idea came to me and ran away with itself. pun not intended (≥▽≤) if the spelling is weird, it’s because i’m australian and it’s weird trying to use american spelling

 

"remind me why i am here?” jongdae whines as yixing bounds out of the car and over to the foot of the grassy hill that they’re parked next to.  
  
‘hill’ does not give the turf-covered monster they are about to run up any justice to its menacing stature. it rises out of the ground in a semi-regular 45-degree slope for the first twenty meters of its ascent, before making a dramatic slant that might as well be vertical, its uneven climb marked at irregular intervals by seven short trees sticking rather pathetically out of the ground.  
  
to the right of the crooked line of trees is a concrete footpath curling up the hill, with other early birds jogging or walking up it and over to the other side. the left side of the hill has a collection of double-story houses jammed into it like colorful, uneven steps; apricot, cream, indigo blue, and one house painted an ugly shade of maroon with gaudy white railings.  
  
yixing’s enthusiasm for their imminent training session is poorly matched by jongdae’s apprehension.  
  
“don’t complain, dae, this is good for your fitness,” yixing tells him.  
  
yixing goes on to outline what they’re doing, and jongdae’s saturday morning gets progressively worse from there. they’re doing suicides using the trees dotting the slope of the hill, and jongdae’s legs are already tired from thinking about running, never mind actually doing it.  
  
“what was wrong with just doing gym this morning?” jongdae asks, and his boyfriend tuts.  
  
“dae, your body is amazing, but your fitness sucks. this will help.” yixing chucks his drink bottle and keys at the foot of the first tree at the base of the hill, before breaking into a light jog. “come on! let’s do a warm up run to the first tree!”  
  
jongdae hopes yixing’s energy will rub off on him, at the very least. he needs it.

 

  
***

  
ten minutes into the session and jongdae is ready to call it quits and never run again.  
  
they’ve just finished sprinting to the fourth tree when a voice floats over to them from one of the houses, “you’re not even trying.”  
  
jongdae looks up from where he’s hunched over and in the process of dying and finds the genial critic smiling at them from where he’s leaning on his fence. he’s from the house with indigo blue walls and black railings, and jongdae’s indignant retort dies when he sees how attractive the man is.  
  
yixing laughs, “come out and join us, then.”  
  
“i’d rather watch you,” the brunet laughs back, raising his mug as an excuse.  
  
jongdae raises a brow at the brunet’s response, but is too busy trying to remember how to breathe to say anything back at the moment. the sleeves of his white shirt are too long, bunching up at his wrists and only letting his fingers and thumb out to hold his mug.  
  
“suit yourself,” yixing smiles at the stranger, before tapping jongdae and leading him back down to the base of the hill. “come on! time for the fifth tree.”  
  
“you’re going to kill me,” jongdae complains, latching onto yixing’s singlet and letting his boyfriend essentially drag him down the hill, away from the beautiful man from the blue house.  
  
“you’ll thank me for this when you don’t die in a zombie apocalypse because you were able to run more than 10 meters,” yixing says, and pokes him in the stomach.  
  
“yes, but chances of that happening are minimal,” jongdae points out. “besides, you’ll be there to save me, because the zombie will eat you first—ah!”  
  
yixing grins at jongdae’s response to his playful slap, “and they say romance is dead.”  
  
“baby, it’s very much alive,” jongdae says, then groans when yixing laughs and takes off up the hill yet again. he chases after him, “you didn’t even give me a countdown!”  
  
“if you’ve got enough energy to talk, you’re not trying,” yixing calls back, before seemingly putting in an extra burst of effort and running to the fifth tree with ease while jongdae scrambles to follow him.  


 

***

  
“finished already?”  
  
jongdae barely finds the energy to lift his head from where he’s spread out like a starfish on the grass to look at the man from before. “i can’t feel my legs,” he admits.  
  
yixing is squatted down next to jongdae and pats his arm patronizingly. he tells the man, “we’re trying to increase his fitness.”  
  
“looks like he needs it,” the man teases, and he’s smiling again. he has a very sweet smile.  
  
“i’d like to see you try run up this monster; i feel like i’m going to pass out,” jongdae grumbles at him, before letting his head fall back onto the ground.  
  
he’s absolutely dripping with sweat and he feels disgusting, plus he has a feeling he won’t be able to walk tomorrow. yixing proved to be quite the drill sergeant, running jongdae’s heartbeat through the roof and his wellbeing into the ground. whoever created suicides couldn’t have named them better, really.  
  
“maybe another time,” the man replies, and yixing tilts his head curiously.  
  
“maybe,” yixing says, then peels jongdae up off the ground, before starting their return to the car with a friendly wave to the stranger. “see you.”  
  
“we’re never running up this hill again,” jongdae vows when he’s in the car with the air-conditioner blasting in his face, even if the view isn’t bad, and by view, he means mr. blue house.  
  
yixing only smiles at him wittingly and starts the engine, before driving out of the carpark.  


 

***

  
one week later, he’s back at the foot of the bane of his existence, yixing’s excitement radiating off him and, unfortunately, failing to permeate jongdae’s unenthusiastic attitude.  
  
“don’t be such a sourpuss,” yixing scolds him lightly. “the sooner we start, the sooner we can finish!”  
  
jongdae needs to tap into his boyfriend’s seemingly endless well of motivation. jongdae’s ideal saturday morning exercise involves mussed bedsheets and quiet moans of pleasure, not sprinting up a hill through a blanket of humidity that threatens to suffocate him. he’s sweating already, and they haven’t even started their warm up.  
  
“yixing, it’s hot,” he says, even as he leads their jog up to the first tree.  
  
maybe he could burn the trees down, and they wouldn’t have any markets to run to. it feels like it’s 100% humidity, probably due to the storm cells that have been pushing through the area over the week, and the temperature is ridiculously high, sapping at jongdae’s energy and making him feel wrung out.  
  
“push through it, babe,” yixing grins, ever the beam of positivity. “this is good fitness and endurance!”  
  
“i don’t care enough about that at the moment,” jongdae huffs, returning to the starting tree.  
  
“you should,” yixing says, pressing a sloppy kiss to jongdae’s sweaty cheek before they start their first short sprint.  
  
jongdae wonders if it’s possible to water a plant with one’s sweat, because that’s what he feels will happen by the end of the session. his shins are sweating—he didn’t even know that was possible—and he knows if he shakes his head he’ll probably turn into a human garden sprinkler. brilliant.  
  
“besides,” yixing pants after their second run. “fitness is good for sex—3, 2, 1, go!”  
  
“isn’t it good anyway?” jongdae asks, struggling to keep up with yixing as they sprint up to the third tree.  
  
“could be better,” yixing shrugs. at jongdae’s indignant look of shock, he bursts out laughing. “i’m kidding, i’m just trying to motivate you.”  
  
“i was going to say,” jongdae moues, turning to descend.  
  
“the sex is amazing, dae, don’t worry,” yixing pats him, and jongdae beats him on the next two sprints just to prove a point.  


 

***

  
“is he okay?”  
  
the familiar voice has jongdae’s eyes opening from where he’s lying on his side trying to recover. yixing is sitting next to him, legs outstretched, and past him is mr. blue house leaning picturesquely against his fence, mug in hand.  
  
“did you mean to match your house?” jongdae asks instead of answering his question, and yixing’s dimple appears in agreement.  
  
the man looks down at his sky-blue shirt and jeans, then back to jongdae with a smile, “happy coincidence.”  
  
“it’s like you’re trying to makeup for the weather,” jongdae comments, turning his head to look at the heavy grey sky that is as bleak as the possibility of him being able to move after this session.  
  
“perhaps.” mr. blue house says with a little nod of his head. “am i succeeding?”  
  
yixing gives him an obvious once-over and shrugs, “i think so. dae?”  
  
“i’m too tired to think right now,” is all jongdae says, rolling onto his back and questioning his life choices that made him date a running enthusiast.  
  
a droplet of sweat rolls into his ear and he jerks to get it out. he feels like melting into the grass. working out in the gym for seven hours is preferable to this level of pain. his heartbeat is still pounding and his legs feel like jelly, and he really needs a drink, but yixing’s bottle is all the way at the foot of the starter tree, and jongdae doesn’t think he has the courage in his balance and core strength to make it down the hill in one piece.  
  
maybe he could roll down the hill like a log. that could work.  
  
he’s about to test out his idea when yixing pauses in his conversation with mr. blue house to stop him with both hands on his torso, “where are you going?”  
  
“i’m trying to turn into a wheel of cheese,” jongdae says. “you know, like that race they have somewhere that they roll a wheel of cheese down a hill?”  
  
yixing looks at him incredulously, “what?”  
  
“england,” mr. blue house supplies. “it’s held in england.”  
  
“right,” jongdae nods, flopping onto his front. “xing, i’m tired and hot and thirsty, can we please go?”  
  
yixing rolls his eyes but stands up anyway, bidding farewell to mr. blue house and helping jongdae to the car. jongdae decides to focus on emptying yixing’s drink bottle instead of talking, and yixing raises a brow, smirking.  
  
“what, no more complaints about the hill?” he says as he reverses out of the car park and navigates his way to the main road.  
  
jongdae finishes draining yixing’s bottle and gasps noisily. “too thirsty.”  
  
“i think you like the hill now,” yixing says, and jongdae scoffs.  
  
“hardly, xing. if we weren’t dating, i would probably have killed you by now.”  
  
“hardly, you love me too much,” yixing says cockily.  
  
“far too much,” jongdae agrees, but he laughs and leans over to plant a slimy, sweaty kiss on yixing’s neck, and his boyfriend swerves in reaction, before quickly righting the car. _jongdae_ , he whines, but jongdae just settles into his seat smugly, and tries to ignore the way his ass cheeks are quivering in pained exhaustion.  


 

***

  
mr. blue house is leaning against the starter tree when they arrive the next saturday morning. jongdae starts in surprise, but yixing merely offers a genial smile and throws his drink bottle and keys at the man’s feet.  
  
“morning!” he says.  
  
jongdae wonders where yixing gets all of his early-morning enthusiasm. he also wonders how both mr. blue house and yixing both manage to look so attractive and put-together this early in the morning on a weekend. jongdae’s wearing the shirt he fell into bed with, along with the first pair of shorts he could find as he stumbled out of the house into the car. the other two are wearing clean clothes suitable for exercising in, and are both chirpy as heck, charming smiles gracing their faces.  
  
“morning,” mr. blue house greets them easily. he addresses jongdae, “you wanted to see me run.”  
  
“i did.”  
  
“it’s great you could finally join us,” yixing says. “i’m yixing, by the way.”  
  
“junmyeon,” mr. blue house answers.  
  
jongdae’s glad for the name, because now he can stop calling him mr. blue house. “i’m jongdae.”  
  
“nice to meet you guys,” junmyeon says. “what’s the plan for training, then?”  


 

***

  
junmyeon is good at running.  
  
as good as yixing. that leaves jongdae trailing after the pair pathetically on every sprint up the hill, which is far from ideal. the temperature is still high, but the humidity is somewhat reduced, so the sweat isn’t pouring out of jongdae like a fountain, much to his relief. small miracles.  
  
“well, you’re not all talk and no bite,” jongdae says at the end of the session, close to passing out where he’s flopped on the ground.  
  
“i don’t bite unless asked,” junmyeon laughs, lifting the edge of his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow, and jongdae’s breathing trips over itself when the movement reveals a set of well-defined abs hiding under his clothes.  
  
jongdae looks away to distract himself, and catches yixing tearing his eyes away from the same sight. they make more small talk, lounging on the grass that’s damp from the humidity. junmyeon owns a major water technology company, providing consultations for surface water and waterway management in numerous countries in the world. surprisingly, his favorite color isn’t blue, it’s actually a toss-up between purple and gold; he attributes the color of his house to the previous owners who built it before eventually selling it to him.  
  
junmyeon lives alone, though sometimes his younger brother sehun stays with him. junmyeon’s older than yixing by a few months, and is an avid volunteer for a number of causes. jongdae doesn’t know why he isn’t surprised by this information, but then again, junmyeon certainly gives off the kind, caring vibe, and seems like the type of person who would establish a water system in an impoverished village or make frequent trips to the hospital to play with sick children, or maybe even run a marathon to raise money for war veterans and their families.  
  
jongdae finds himself even more curious about junmyeon than when they first started their conversation by the time yixing finally brushes himself off and picks jongdae up off the floor to go home and shower. it’s unsatisfying, asking questions and only wanting to raise more of them once they’ve been answered.  
  
“see you next week?” yixing ventures.  
  
junmyeon smiles. he smiles a lot, and he does it with his whole body, eyes crinkling up, high cheekbones rising in mirth. “sure.”  


 

***

  
jongdae actually finds himself growing excited for his saturday runs, and, though he hates to admit it, a lot of it has to do with the fact that junmyeon has joined them for the past three weeks. jongdae always enjoys making new friends, and spending time with junmyeon is enjoyable at least. he’s only slightly disappointed that even though they’ve been running together for almost a month, they’re still only making small talk, and no real progress in the friendship is being made.  
  
jongdae really wants to spend time with junmyeon, and though he knows he should probably feel bad for being attracted to someone when he already has yixing, he comforts himself with the knowledge that he’s only admiring junmyeon as person that he wants to be closer with platonically. besides, yixing is always with him by default when he’s around junmyeon, so there is no harm being done, really.  
  
the only weird thing is that junmyeon openly flirts with jongdae, which shouldn’t be unusual, except he also flirts with yixing just as openly. he’s aware that the two of them are together, or would have assumed by their behavior anyway, and any doubts he may have had would have been obliterated last week when he arrived late last week to find yixing trapped against the starting tree with jongdae trying to kiss his ticklish neck. junmyeon’s knowledge of their relationship doesn’t seem to stop his advances, and jongdae thinks he should feel offended at his brazenness, but finds himself being intrigued instead.  
  
it’s hard not to like junmyeon, with his sweet, sweet smile and his genuine concern when he asks if jongdae is okay when he collapses to the ground in exhaustion, even as he asks with a teasing lilt to his voice. he’s easy on the eyes, too, even if his clothes cover the majority of his body and only provide a hint of the musculature hiding beneath. jongdae resists taking those types of thoughts any further when they occur and always kisses yixing extra hard instead.  
  
junmyeon isn’t there on what would be their fourth week together when they turn up. the session seems to go on longer than usual, yixing making him run to the top of the hill three times instead of twice on account of jongdae’s second-last effort apparently being sub-par. jongdae dallies around after they’re finished, pretending to stretch his jelly-like legs without making it painfully obvious what he’s really hanging around for, but still junmyeon doesn’t show up. it’s slightly disappointing, but jongdae doesn’t voice anything, even when he’s sure yixing feels the same.  
  
junmyeon is there the next week however, and the relief that jongdae experiences crashing through him is a lot bigger than he expected. he’d convinced himself all week that junmyeon wouldn’t show up, which was fine really, because it wasn’t as if he had a contract with them, or was obliged to run with them. maybe junmyeon had been busy, or just didn’t want to run with them anymore. jongdae quashed that thought, because it was ridiculous to think of, and instead put junmyeon’s absence down to him probably having something pop up, or even him simply missing his morning alarm.  
  
the thought makes jongdae want to get his number, or some form of contact so that they can organize ahead next time. he’ll also be able to converse more with junmyeon, as a friend, of course, and they can develop their friendship and finally take their conversations past the frivolous small talk.  
  
“good morning!” jongdae greets junmyeon when he sees him, in a voice that is far brighter than he normally uses so early in the day. he then says, before he can stop himself, “where were you last week?”  
  
junmyeon’s face lifts in slight confusion and then pleasant surprise. “oh. yeah, sorry, i was held back at work putting out fires and, well. i spent the night there.” he smiles, hesitant, then says, “i would have told you guys, but. well. i had no way of telling you.”  
  
jongdae pounces on his opportunity, “oh. well then just give us your number.”  
  
junmyeon flashes another pleasantly surprised smile, before digging his phone out of his pocket and placing it in jongdae’s outstretched hand. yixing hooks his chin on jongdae’s shoulder and peers down at the screen as jongdae enters his and yixing’s numbers into junmyeon’s contacts, before texting their phones so junmyeon can share his number with them.  
  
he hands the phone back with a satisfied grin, and yixing pokes him in the side, prompting him to start their warm up. junmyeon is wearing a tank top today, the first time he’s opted to forgo wearing a shirt, and jongdae laughs at his past self for wishing junmyeon would show more skin. he’s thankful that yixing is wearing a shirt today, because he doesn’t think he could survive seeing that much skin from the two of them.  
  
he needs to control his lust, honestly.  


 

***

  
“your thirst for junmyeon is palpable,” yixing comments out of nowhere on the drive home, voice dry and amused.  
  
“my what?”  
  
“junmyeon,” yixing prompts. “you kept staring at him, i felt like putting your eyes back in your head.”  
  
“what?” jongdae laughs disbelievingly. “looking at him does not equate to being thirsty for him.”  
  
“no, but looking at him while giving him bedroom eyes does,” yixing quips.  
  
“i was not giving him bedroom eyes,” jongdae huffs, gripping the steering wheel tighter, and yixing’s hand skims over his.  
  
“relax, babe,” he says. “and you were, don’t deny it. when you look at me like that, you’re moments away from shoving your hands down my pants.”  
  
“you love it,” jongdae says, trying to redirect the conversation, to no avail.  
  
“you know it,” yixing hums, eyes closing as he tips his head back against the headrest. “i don’t blame you, i mean, he’s good-looking. i’d have to be blind not to think that.”  
  
jongdae mulls over yixing’s reply, glad his boyfriend shares his opinion, so he knows he’s not going crazy. yixing’s answer, however, raises another question, and jongdae frowns, before venturing, “…shouldn’t you be jealous?”  
  
yixing opens his eyes and looks at him, “are you?”  
  
jongdae starts to say _yeah, duh_ , but then stops himself to think over the question more. he’s driven three blocks in silence before he realizes he hasn’t answered, and that’s while he’s in the middle of turning down the wrong street. damn.  
  
he doesn’t know what to say. he’s not jealous of yixing finding junmyeon attractive. in fact, he’s pleased that yixing thinks that way, is possibly… _attracted_ to junmyeon like jongdae is. he’s been dating yixing for almost three years now, and nothing like this has ever happened before. usually, it’s only one person coming in between them, and either of them get jealous and they have to patch things up and reassure each other that they’re the only ones in this relationship, that no one is leaving anyone for someone else.  
  
it’s always the same. someone fresh breaks into their lives, and jongdae admires their attributes platonically, and knows his heart lies with yixing, or vice versa. but now, meeting junmyeon—smiley, flirtatious, good-looking junmyeon—has thrown a spanner in the works, because jongdae has never wanted someone as much as he wants junmyeon since he’s been with yixing, and it scares him.  
  
he worries that feeling this way identifies a gap in his and yixing’s relationship that needs bridging, like he’s subconsciously searching for something that’s missing in junmyeon. then again, if yixing…if yixing feels the same way, then what does that mean about their relationship? he would have thought that dating for almost three years—and going through all of the ups and downs associated with being in a relationship for so long—would have smoothed out any complications and he wouldn’t be feeling so fickle so far down the track, but he is.  
  
this is new.  
  
both of them admitting someone is attractive so openly to each other isn’t an everyday occurrence, something jongdae attributes to not wanting to say anything that might be inappropriate given they’re in a relationship together. it’s a lot to take in all at once.  
  
jongdae’s brows furrow in thought, and when he sneaks a peek at yixing, his boyfriend is staring out the window thoughtfully.  
  
“what does that mean?” jongdae says quietly, because his lack of an answer to yixing’s question was answer enough.  
  
“i don’t know,” yixing says softly. “i—i just…pull over.”  
  
jongdae pulls over to the side of the road wordlessly, then decides to just park and turn the engine off. yixing reaches out to take jongdae’s hand in his, searching his eyes, and jongdae fights the urge to squirm under yixing’s serious gaze. he looks down, then out the window past yixing’s head, because he doesn’t know how to feel about this conversation going ahead. he doesn’t like confrontation, always wanting to be the mood maker instead, and while yixing would also prefer to avoid it, he can be a lot more serious than jongdae when he thinks he should be.  
  
“jongdae,” yixing says to get his attention, and jongdae reluctantly stops staring at the tree outside yixing’s window to look at his boyfriend instead.  
  
“yeah,” he says, chewing his lip.  
  
yixing takes a big breath, “i don’t know how you feel but—and this is—i could be wrong, this could just be like, my dick speaking or whatever—which is shouldn’t, but it might—and i’m sorry if this hurts you, but again, i don’t know—”  
  
“yixing—babe,” jongdae interrupts him. “get to the point.”  
  
yixing stares at him, eyebrows raised in concern, then he nods. “jongdae. i love you, i do. i love you a lot, please don’t ever doubt that. but. there’s something about junmyeon. i like him. and not—not just as a friend. i want—i want to kiss him and hold his hand and—and i know i shouldn’t, but i still love you? i don’t want to break up with you, god no, and i don’t want to do anything about junmyeon, but—but yeah. i don’t know.”  
  
jongdae lets out the breath he was holding and nods as well, eyes falling down onto his shorts, “…okay…i love you too. and—and i think i feel the same. you know. about junmyeon. i want to do that too. as in, kiss him—actually, okay, i’ll be blunt, he’s really hot, and i want to get down on my knees for him and hear him moan my name, and i shouldn’t say this, but he’d be good in bed, because he’s fit, like you are, and well, you’re fucking amazing in bed, and both of you—like, i have to train on weekends with two really good-looking guys, one of which is my boyfriend, while the other openly flirts with me, but also you at the same time, and…i don’t know what to think, either.” jongdae finishes his rambling with a sad laugh, picking at the cover of the passenger seat, before chancing a glance up at yixing.  
  
“that makes two of us,” yixing is still watching him, the hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “what are we going to do?”  
  
jongdae shrugs glumly, “what do you think we should do?”  
  
yixing doesn’t say anything for a beat, then answers, “let’s just…not do anything about this.” he squeezes jongdae’s hand, “you’re enough for me.”  
  
jongdae nods dumbly, and forces a smile. he wishes he didn’t feel disappointed, but seriously, what was he to think, that yixing would suggest something as outlandish as having a fucking threesome or, god forbid, a three-way relationship? he wants to say you’re enough for me, too, but deep down he knows he’d be lying, and he feels terrible for even thinking that but he needs to know where his rice bowl lies.  
  
“okay,” he says, instead of voicing his concerns about the state of their relationship, and then he turns the engine back on and pulls out into the stream of traffic to avoid letting the conversation continue any further than it already has.  
  
the rest of the ride home is silent, yixing’s thumb stroking slowly over the back of jongdae’s hand, both of them lost in thought. jongdae’s disappointment hangs over him like a gloomy storm cloud, and he unlocks their apartment quietly, immediately heading to their bedroom to strip and shower away the sweat, bad mood, and confused thoughts.  
  
yixing is in the middle of pulling his shirt off, jongdae watching the way his abs flex with the movement, when he thinks of the way junmyeon’s abs are hiding under his clothes all the time, and how he wants to know what they taste like, and he suddenly blurts out, “or like, we could just have a threesome with him to get it out of our systems.”  
  
yixing finishes throwing his shirt off, blinks at him, then breathes out, “oh, thank god,” before crowding jongdae against the nearest wall and kissing him fervently. “we can do that,” he says between sloppy kisses, “we can definitely do that,” and jongdae grins and wraps his arms around yixing’s neck and kisses him back.  


 

***

  
getting around to actually having the threesome happen is something completely different. for starters, neither of them have any idea how to broach the subject with junmyeon, worried they might be reading things wrong. he could just be a naturally flirtatious person, who, well, flirts with anyone and everyone. he might not even realize he’s flirting with them, and could just be trying to be friendly. what if he’s already in a relationship?  
  
it’s so much harder to consider raising the idea when saturday actually rolls around, and junmyeon is standing in front of them, an easy smile gracing his lips, completely clueless to jongdae’s inner turmoil of cluelessness on how to initiate anything with the brunet and his boyfriend at the same time. the cloud cover is as heavy as jongdae’s mood, doing nothing to alleviate his internal war, and he doubles his efforts while he sprints to try and distract himself and not openly check out junmyeon’s ass when he runs.  
  
god.  
  
yixing keeps smirking at him, finding everything to be a lot funnier and entertaining than it actually is, and jongdae wants to hit him for taking so much pleasure in his struggles. junmyeon’s seemingly oblivious to yixing and jongdae’s silent exchanges about him, merely clapping either of them on the backs and setting off up the hill with constant eagerness.  
  
it starts spitting when they’re on the last sprint to the top of the hill, and jongdae’s glad for the wet respite from the thick humidity that’s clogging up the air. when he’s on the ground groaning in relief that he can stop running after they’ve finished, the heavens suddenly open up and it absolutely pours, pedestrians running for the shelter of their cars and abandoning the area.  
  
jongdae moans as the rain cools him immediately, soaking his clothes and making him feel like a soggy popsicle. to his left, junmyeon’s laughing at his response, his deep brown hair plastered against his face and his singlet clinging to his body in all the right places, and jongdae’s eyes rake down his form before he can stop himself. when he detaches his eyes from junmyeon’s body and up to his face again, junmyeon is smiling at him enigmatically, and jongdae turns his attention to the grass, feeling his body sag gladly under the weight of the rain.  
  
“this is so great,” junmyeon sighs, lying down next to jongdae and reveling in the heavy downpour being unleashed upon them. “i love the rain.”  
  
yixing drapes himself half over jongdae’s chest and blinks down at junmyeon, “is that why you have a water company?”  
  
junmyeon laughs, “possibly. it used to be only be a small sector of my family’s corporation, but i built it up to be bigger and have it stand by itself.” he gazes at yixing and jongdae, turning onto his side to prop his head on his hand, “why did you two decide to chase your current occupations?”  
  
yixing shrugs, “i always wanted to be stuck in a lab. i guess my interest in hematology stemmed from the fact that my blood can’t form clots properly that well.”  
  
jongdae pushes some of yixing’s hair out of his eyes and strokes his cheek. “i’m just the guy who tells the architects that they can’t design buildings that are impossible to construct.” he gives an impish grin, “maybe i just like to stir shit up.”  
  
“you would,” junmyeon says, amused, half-rolling onto his front and peering up at jongdae and yixing through the rain with droopy eyes.  
  
jongdae lets out a big sigh of relief and closes his eyes, feeling yixing’s warm pulse beating into him from where he’s still lying on jongdae’s chest. junmyeon’s new position has him pressed lightly up against jongdae’s side. jongdae can feel junmyeon’s chest expanding and retracting as he breathes, and he revels in the closeness. he wonders what the three of them look like to passersby who are braving the relentless rain, or to junmyeon’s neighbors, who can see the trio lying in a saturated heap together. they probably just look like a pack of drowned rats.  
  
they run inside when the lightning starts, because it is incredibly close, the flash-to-bang count lasting less than ten seconds, and while jongdae would rather stay outside and enjoy the storm, he also would appreciate not being fried alive. the thunder cracks frighteningly loudly over their heads, and jongdae watches fork lightning rupture the sky in awe.  
  
junmyeon’s house is a splash of greys, blues and blacks. aside from the crisp color palette, it’s nothing like what jongdae imagined, being slightly messy in a lived-in way. where jongdae expected clear floors and spotless rooms, he’s met with out-of-place cushions, scraps of paper littering random horizontal surfaces, and different items of clothing strewn around the house. there are shoes everywhere, different kinds tucked into various corners in the house, like junmyeon took them off and forgot to return them to his near-empty shoe rack at his front door.  
  
they end up seated at junmyeon’s kitchen bench as the brunet makes them hot chocolate, both of them wearing borrowed shirts and pants. jongdae had showered alone, yixing waiting outside in favor of talking to junmyeon—about what, jongdae has no idea, but when he came out, yixing had been shirtless and he’d caught junmyeon’s eyes flickering over his boyfriend’s bare chest.  
  
they leave when the storm abates, not wanting to outstay their welcome, even though junmyeon assures them that they’re welcome to hang around. jongdae wants to accept his extended offer, but yixing holds him back, _slow, jongdae_ , and tells junmyeon that they’ll stay another time.  
  
“see you next week?” junmyeon asks when they prepare to leave.  
  
“of course,” jongdae says with ease. “besides, we have to give your clothes back sometime.”  
  
“keep them,” junmyeon waves him off with a smile.  
  
“don’t tell us that, we’ll never take them off,” yixing jokes.  
  
“that could really be a problem,” junmyeon says, and oh god, there he goes with his innocent innuendos again, and jongdae just wants to drag both men into junmyeon’s room and have his way with them, but he holds himself in check, helped by yixing’s fingers slotting together with his firmly.  
  
yixing hums in agreement, then turns to tug jongdae to their car, away from junmyeon, and away from temptation.  


 

***

  
“are you two doing anything tonight?” junmyeon says halfway through their session two weeks later, chest heaving with exertion.  
  
jongdae hedges to prevent himself from immediately replying in the affirmative, “i think we’re free?”  
  
yixing looks him like _really?_ “we’re free.”  
  
junmyeon gives a small, pleased nod, leading them to the starter tree. “great. there’s this really nice restaurant a couple of blocks from here.” he takes a drink from his bottle and jongdae shamelessly watches the way his throat works when he swallows. “i was thinking we should go there.”  
  
yixing agrees readily, junmyeon’s face breaking into a happy grin, and jongdae blames his racing heart on his poor fitness.  
  
they eat at a small barbecue restaurant down the road from junmyeon’s house, tucked below a block of apartments, and jongdae assumes junmyeon is a frequent customer, given the fact that the staff greet him by name when he arrives with them. both yixing and junmyeon are wearing all black, yixing’s low neckline showing off his collarbones while junmyeon’s rolled-up sleeves showcase his forearms. jongdae wants to eat them both.  
  
junmyeon insists on paying for dinner, even though jongdae and yixing protest, but they eventually cede to his wishes when he suggests that they just buy him dessert afterwards. they end up buying gelato, and thank god junmyeon chose the mint chocolate cone, because the mess he is making on his lips should be illegal. jongdae dreads to think what his thoughts would be like if junmyeon’s ice cream was white instead of peppermint green.  
  
yixing is in the same boat, hand clenching jongdae’s knee harshly under the table as junmyeon licks a runaway droplet up the side of his cone, before closing his lips over the top of the ice cream and biting off a mouthful of green. jongdae needs to rein in his hormones, honestly.  
  
junmyeon seems to be oblivious to the pair’s silent inner floundering, and jongdae gives yixing a sidelong glance of pained frustration, but then junmyeon smirks at him, and jongdae doesn’t know if he wants to hit him or kiss him for being such a tease. yixing laughs when jongdae accidentally gets ice cream on his chin—because he was too busy staring at junmyeon’s slicked lips—and junmyeon leans across the table to swipe it off with a napkin, and it just feels so much like a date, and something warm curls in jongdae’s stomach at the thought.  
  
they part ways two hours later when their yawning is overtaking the conversation, and jongdae regrets having to see junmyeon go.  
  
“we should do this again,” he says, and junmyeon offers him one of his soft smiles.  
  
“you pick the place next time,” junmyeon says, before loping off to find his car with a _see you soon_ , and jongdae quashes the exhilaration bubbling up inside him.  


 

***

  
jongdae decides to gather some confidence and form a group chat with junmyeon and yixing later the following monday when he’s at work and needs a break from telling minseok, the architect he’s currently working on a project with, that he can’t actually use the roof design he wants on his building given the significant complications with lighting and electricity that such as structure would present.  
  
the move sparks instant conversation between all three of them and ends with them setting a second dinner date the next evening. jongdae doesn’t know if he’s being too presumptuous, referring to their dinners as dates, but the last one certainly felt that way, given junmyeon shouted them dinner while they paid for dessert, all combined with the fun, harmless flirting on the side.  
  
he’s trying to button his shirt up as yixing hinders his effort by sucking on his neck when he voices a thought, “i don’t want a threesome with him.”  
  
yixing kisses his way up to jongdae’s ear, whispering, “wait, what? why not?”  
  
jongdae snickers as yixing tongues the corner of his jaw, “wrong word choice. i still want to screw him. and you. both of you— _ah_ —yixing, let me do my shirt up—”  
  
yixing doesn’t listen, unbuttoning his shirt faster than he can close it and sliding his hands over jongdae’s waist, gripping his hips and licking the other side of jongdae’s neck. “but you don’t want a threesome?”  
  
jongdae starts a feeble attempt at finishing getting dressed, to no avail. “no, i mean, i like him, and i want to have that damn threesome, but i…” he trails off, the weight of what he wants to say heavy on his tongue and rendering him speechless.  
  
he can’t just ask yixing to change their dynamics and introduce a third person into this relationship. he doesn’t even know if yixing wants anything more than the physical side of junmyeon, and besides, they did make this agreement on the basis of ‘getting it out of their systems’, nothing more than that. nothing more serious than that, and yet here jongdae is, wanting to turn everything on its head and enter a poly relationship.  
  
there have been many times where yixing has done something that made jongdae fall in love with him even more than he thought possible, but he’s still dumbfounded when yixing says, “let’s date him,” before sinking his teeth into jongdae’s skin and sucking _hard_.  
  
“really?” he says, incredulous, and yixing’s hair tickles his ear when he nods. “are you serious?”  
  
yixing pulls away to bite his puffy lip, “yeah. i mean. i’ve never done this before, but we’re already in this deep, so. yeah, why the hell not?”  
  
“i didn’t think you liked him,” jongdae says, confused, and yixing pats his cheek sardonically.  
  
“neither,” he admits. “but he’s just…i guess i’ve been stuck on him for a bit. i keep imagining him fitting into situations with us, and…and yeah, i like it. a lot. it’s so weird, willingly imagining dating someone who isn’t you, because i’ve loved you for so long, and even weirder is the fact that i want to share you with this new person, as in, i still love you even as i fall for this other person, junmyeon, and i want to have both of you in my life with equal significance, and do stupid things together and argue over what to watch on tv and figure out what to have for dinner and—”  
  
jongdae cuts him off by kissing him fiercely, pouring all his relief and elation into the gesture. “ _thank you_ ,” he whispers, before surging forward to slot their lips together again and press all the words he can’t say into yixing, wondering how on earth he found someone so understanding.  
  
“i love you,” he says as he tugs yixing close using the belt loops in his jeans, and yixing breathes out a laugh as he divests jongdae of his damned shirt.  
  
“i know you do,” he chuckles, sliding his hands into jongdae’s underwear.  
  
they end up being late to dinner.  


 

***

  
junmyeon grins at them knowingly when they arrive at their table ten minutes behind time, but doesn’t question them, waving a waiter over and ordering drinks for them.  
  
after dinner, they find a chocolatier for dessert, and enjoy a chocolate fondue together. jongdae decides a fondue probably wasn’t the brightest idea as he watches yixing’s lips wrap around a piece of banana, tongue coming out to swipe his lips clean of excess chocolate.  
  
bad idea indeed.  
  
it shouldn’t bother him, but only two hours ago yixing’s lips were wrapped around something else, and he was looking up at jongdae through dark eyes as his throat worked around jongdae’s cock, and great, now he’s getting aroused thinking of that memory—  
  
jongdae shifts in his seat and stabs a strawberry viciously with his fondue fork, because yixing is doing it on purpose—if the way he smirks at jongdae when he’s finished is any indication—and watching his boyfriend eat shouldn’t be affecting him this much.  
  
“you okay?” junmyeon tilts his head curiously, and then suddenly his hand is soothing lightly over jongdae’s knee.  
  
his eyes skim over jongdae’s nodding face, inadvertently drifting down and settling on the massive hickey yixing sucked into his neck before dinner. junmyeon’s eyes have been catching on the bruise all evening, because it is ridiculously large and noticeable, even under a rushed layer of concealer, and jongdae watches him amusedly, junmyeon’s cheeks turning pink when his eyes flicker up to meet jongdae’s.  
  
“nice pre-dinner snack?” he asks yixing nonchalantly, and jongdae chokes on his food.  
  
“mm, you should try it sometime,” yixing hums, ignoring jongdae’s imminent death by choking in favor of making his stupid joke, and jongdae wonders what cosmic entity is out to get him by saddling him with two lame, attractive men who seem to exist to make his life hell.  
  
“oh my god,” he wheezes, and the two fuckers on either side of him laugh loudly at his pain.  
  
he manages to settle down after a few sips of water, and junmyeon doesn’t remove his hand from his knee, so, feeling brave, jongdae reaches down and covers junmyeon’s hand with his own. junmyeon gives him a dazzling smile and supinates his hand to lace their fingers together, before turning his attention on dipping a marshmallow into the fondue, and jongdae tries not to have a heart attack.  


 

***

  
their third date is a marathon of all six star wars films, suggested by junmyeon, because he likes them, and seconded by jongdae, because he’s never seen them. that revelation had junmyeon adamant that jongdae needed educating in the franchise, and so after their weekly running session, they’re all squashed onto one of jongdae’s couches, sitting far too closely together than necessary, sides pressed up against one another, drinking berry and banana smoothies that yixing made.  
  
junmyeon saying that he liked the films was a severe understatement. he laughs all the time while watching the films, and quotes the lines along with the characters to yixing and jongdae with funny faces, and he also fills jongdae in with explanations when he’s confused as to what’s happening, with bonus trivia, and jongdae’s heart squeezes because he has so much affection for this ridiculously attractive man who also happens to be a complete nerd over star wars.  
  
jongdae extracts himself from the squishy grip of the couch after they’ve finished the second film to grab a drink of water. he’s drinking at the bar, watching as junmyeon changes the disc to the third episode, then returns to yixing on the couch. yixing is smiling, watching him draw near, dimple on display, and junmyeon settles down half-facing him, reaching up to poke it.  
  
jongdae watches yixing reach down hesitantly, before curling his fingers gently over junmyeon’s. yixing’s small smile is met by junmyeon’s wide, open grin, and he blinks in surprise when junmyeon suddenly leans in to press a soft kiss to the corner of his eye. it’s progress in the right direction, and jongdae’s heart kicks against his ribcage. when jongdae returns to the couch, junmyeon reaches for his hand without hesitation, and all three of them end up almost snuggling for the next two movies before they get sick of watching tv and opt to eat instead.  


 

***

  
he kisses junmyeon on their fourth date at his and yixing’s apartment, while washing the dishes they made from cooking lunch. yixing wanted to teach junmyeon how to make a traditional changsha dish—which jongdae still struggles to pronounce, even with yixing’s invaluable help in learning mandarin—and jongdae wasn’t one to protest to watching his two favorite people flirt and cook together.  
  
junmyeon is elbow-deep in suds as jongdae dries and yixing cleans up the kitchen around them. one minute he’s toweling bowls for yixing to put away, and the next junmyeon’s easing a soggy hand over his cheek and easing their lips together, and jongdae lets out a breath of surprise and elation at finally, _finally_ kissing him.  
  
“hey, where’s mine?” yixing says and slides his hands around junmyeon’s waist from behind, nosing at junmyeon’s cheek until he stops kissing jongdae to kiss him instead. it’s soft and sweet, but sincere, junmyeon’s eyes dopey yet alluring, wet fingers clawed in jongdae’s shirt.  
  
eventually all three of them migrate to the bedroom, dishes forgotten in favor of removing their clothes. junmyeon fucks jongdae hard and fast, and litters yixing’s chest with hickeys, and later on jongdae finally finds out what junmyeon’s abs taste like under his tongue. yixing swallows jongdae’s cock and jongdae fingers junmyeon until his eyes water from too much pleasure, and yixing laughs when the first condom jongdae opens tears.  
  
junmyeon rolls his hips down on yixing’s as he slides into him, lying on his side to make out lazily with jongdae, and yixing licks at junmyeon’s throat.  
  
“took—ah—your—mm—time”, junmyeon murmurs as yixing thrusts into him more powerfully, and when yixing pouts in confusion, jongdae reaches up to swipe his bottom lip with his tongue. “i was wondering when you two would make a move.”  
  
“well, we had to take you out to dinner first,” jongdae jokes.  
  
“had to wine and dine me, hm?” junmyeon pants. he moans, eyes sliding shut in pleasure, “oh god, yes, yixing.”  
  
“well yeah,” yixing says, trying a different angle with his thrusts and gauging junmyeon’s reaction. “we want to date you, not just bang you.”  
  
“go left,” junmyeon directs yixing, hand stroking jongdae’s cock gently. he moans again when yixing follows his advice, “that’s good.” he raises his eyebrow at jongdae playfully, “you want to date me?”  
  
jongdae kisses him, “ha, we didn’t exactly expect to ask you out properly during sex, but i guess we are?”  
  
“romantic,” junmyeon says dryly.  
  
“enjoyable, at least,” jongdae counters.  
  
“is that a yes?” yixing asks, and junmyeon pretends to think about it, but the effect is ruined when he groans on a particularly hard thrust from yixing right against his prostate.  
  
“if your cock being buried in my ass isn’t a yes, then i don’t know what is,” he huffs charmingly. “of course i want to be your boyfriend.”  
  
yixing laughs and kisses him sloppily, jongdae grinning and shuffling closer to smooth their lips together when yixing pulls away. he presses his elation into junmyeon’s mouth and bucks into junmyeon’s fist as his fingers stroke over yixing’s cheek. boyfriend. it sounds nice finally coming from junmyeon’s lips.

 

  
***

  
_epilogue_  
  
jongdae wakes with a start to the sound of voices in his kitchen and the smell of something delicious floating through the house. folding himself up off the couch, he pads into the kitchen to find his boyfriends plating dinner, both of them gravitating toward him once they notice his presence to plant kisses on his cheeks.  
  
“you’re awake,” junmyeon says, cupping his cheek and easing a soft kiss onto his lips.  
  
yixing squeezes his hand and steers him onto a barstool, before serving his plate in front of him and raising a piece of meat to his mouth to eat, hand cupped under the chopsticks. “long day?”  
  
jongdae nods sleepily. his firm has been finishing up their latest project, which has him dealing with multiple personnel from different departments and companies. it’s been a long week, a draining one, jongdae running low on sleep, so much so that he went out like a light on the couch after he got home at six, still dressed in his work clothes. it’s the end of the week though, so he has the weekend to unwind and reboot in time for next monday, and the onslaught it will bring.  
  
dinner is slow, yixing feeding him at random times and junmyeon prompting him to eat when he sighs in exhaustion. yixing tells him about how his research is faring so far, and junmyeon eases the knots out of his shoulders and neck. they fall into bed together when they’re finished, junmyeon nestled in between yixing and jongdae snugly.  
  
“i love you,” yixing tells both of them, voice hushed and reverent.  
  
“love you too,” jongdae sighs, eyes closing as he noses junmyeon’s shoulder.  
  
they fall quiet, jongdae’s body letting go of all the tension that has built up over the week and melting into the mattress. this is his favorite part about his day, falling asleep with his two lovers in his arms. four months into this relationship, and he has no regrets, glad junmyeon has merged into his and yixing’s shared life so seamlessly.  
  
“hey,” he says into the darkness, even though he’s two seconds from losing consciousness, and even though he can hear his partners’ breathing patterns starting to slow down. junmyeon hums quietly to tell him he’s listening, and yixing squeezes his hand. he admits, “i didn’t think we would work out so well.”  
  
the other two are silent for a moment, then yixing speaks, “me neither.”  
  
junmyeon chuckles, “so little faith.”  
  
“seriously, jongdae says. “i didn’t even know if you liked us back, or if you were just a flirt.”  
  
“i only flirted with you two,” junmyeon says, and jongdae can hear his smile, even if he can’t see it. “i liked you two immediately.” he doesn’t say anything for a beat, then speaks, “i wanted both of you and it scared me.”  
  
yixing kisses him, “we were scared, too.” he strokes his thumb over jongdae’s hand, “we didn’t know how to ask you out, and we thought you would be freaked out by us.”  
  
“i worried that it wouldn’t work and all three of us would split up,” jongdae confesses.  
  
“well, we’re still here,” junmyeon says, before his voice adopts a teasing lilt. “i think think i did a pretty good job of bringing us all together.”  
  
“hmm, you did talk to us first,” yixing agrees sleepily. “thank you.”  
  
“thank you for letting me,” junmyeon says.  
  
jongdae laughs at their serious tones, and summons the energy to sit up and lean over to kiss yixing goodnight, then junmyeon as he lies back down. he’s so exhausted and wrung out. tomorrow morning, they’re still doing their weekly running session, but he’ll burn that bridge when he gets to it. right now, he’s only concerned with the gentle rise and fall of junmyeon’s chest as he breathes, and on yixing’s fingers tangled in his.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments either here or on [LJ](http://91daes.livejournal.com/3254.html) to support the author!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [come live in my world](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6195946) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account)




End file.
